TheCrabsHomestead

This past week in our Homeschool Science Lab, we have talked about the clouds and how if you can identify them, you can pretty much predict the weather! It definitely worked for us! I have to admit I was actually excited about the cloud stuff because I like “old school farmer knowledge” and am a die hard fan of the Farmer’s Almanac. Yeah, I like to follow space weather too…ok, so I geeked out a tad bit:) But it is also a great project because it will take a few days to identify different types of the clouds. So it is an ongoing one that you can break up, however you like.

I found this wonderful cloud identifier on pinterest, but after clicking the links, found that you had to buy it…”no way” says this DIY Lady. Below is what you need to do:

Gather Together:

• Blue Construction Paper (one per person, I did one to show as an example)
• Scissors
• White/Gray Crayons
• Glue Stick (worked better)
• White Tissue Paper *optional
• Cotton Balls

2. Then, start identifying the clouds you see! We used the square as a frame to look through to view the clouds. 

This is a great resource for identifying clouds!

http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/pdf/Kiwi_Kids_Cloud_Guide.pdf

3. Use the glue and cotton balls to mimic the clouds you identify. We used tissue paper for Cirrus clouds because they were less fluffy and more “whispy”.

4. Label the clouds you see each day with the white/gray crayon.

We only did three of the Four Groups (Cirrus, Cumulus, and Stratus) this week because we were able to see them this week. We use the identifiers outside by holding them up, looking through the square and identifying the clouds using our models on our construction paper. As they get better at “checking the boxes” on the nasa link above and identifying those basic clouds, we will move into the more detailed of the 3 groups.

We also tried a “Make Your Own Cloud Project” I found on pinterest, but our cloud was not as thick. It still was super cool watching the clouds move and form though!

http://we-made-that.com/make-a-cloud/

Overall, we covered science and art with this project. It was also a fun spin on just decorating construction paper with cotton balls. This makes it more interactive for my kinesthetic learners! It is also a fun ongoing lesson with cool experiments that are easily found onlineHappy cloud hunting!!